


home is wherever i'm with you (so stay with me forever)

by nadatelfanacc



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: But hes more like a big brother in this lol, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Found Family, Gaang (Avatar), Gaang (Avatar) as Family, Hurt/Comfort, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Protective Gaang (Avatar), Team as Family, The Gaang - Freeform, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Toph loves Sokka, i actually didnt realize how much i loved sokka until i wrote this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:27:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28695423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nadatelfanacc/pseuds/nadatelfanacc
Summary: This was the best ending, holding each other within a burning city, a war torn world with wounds and bruises covering their bodies, smelling like soot and fire and blood and battle. This was the best ending, their heartbeats pounding through the earth, strong and steady and alive. This was the best ending, and Toph couldn’t have asked for anything more.--Or, Team Avatar gets their forever.
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Toph Beifong, Aang & Toph Beifong & Katara & Sokka & Suki & Zuko, Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Sokka & The Gaang (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Suki & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Katara, Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong & Suki, Toph Beifong & The Gaang, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	home is wherever i'm with you (so stay with me forever)

At least for Toph, the day started off when she was woken up by Suki around noon when Sokka and Katara finally were able to decide on a decent campsite for the next few days. Aang always asked her how she could possibly sleep for such long periods of time if unbothered, but that was because he was naturally an early bird when it came to waking up in the morning. It was her least favorite thing about him, by the way. She enjoyed her beauty sleep and did not appreciate it when Aang woke her up at the crack of dawn, ready as he’d ever been for a quick earthbending spar. Nevertheless, she managed to slide off of Appa with all of her belongings only several minutes after everyone else did. The giant fluff monster crooned and stretched his limbs, nestling within the soft grass in preparation for another long, well deserved nap. 

Licking her dry mouth, Toph very reluctantly walked over to where everyone was unpacking and setting up camp. Pitching up a tent for her at least was rather easy, with two stomps to the rose two giant slabs were risen from the Earth and there, she was finished. But from the beginning, Katara complained whenever she only helped herself, so she went with Suki and Sokka to go collect firewood for the next few nights. They came back to camp not long after leaving, so Toph dropped off the wood in the middle of the firepit and leaned herself up against a tree stump. She relaxed and prepared herself for boredom as she did not really have anything else to do for the rest of the day. That was until Sokka came up to her, perhaps looking to tease her as he usually did. Secretly, she hoped this was the case because bickering and getting him riled up was always fun.

“Your hair’s all messy.” He says. Toph tucks a bang of hair behind her hair, not saying anything as he throws an arm around her shoulder.

Toph had a feeling Sokka was planning something, and planning he was, as she had barely any time to react when he dug his knuckles into the crown of her hair and started noogying her hair, cackling loudly. She yelped and tried to pry off his forearms as her bun was becoming increasingly undone. Much to her chagrin, it only had the opposite effect. He picked up his speed and grabbed at her hands so that she had an even harder time trying to shove him off. 

Eventually, she screamed angrily and resorted to kneeing him right in the side, causing Sokka to wheeze and double back. Once he stumbled, Toph took the opportunity to charge at him and barrel straight into his side, knocking him to the ground. The two went down in a tangle of limbs and shouts and shrieks as Toph retaliated by shoving his face into wet mud, smearing dirt all over his cheek and clothes. 

“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that!” He let out a war cry and quickly scooped up a handful of mud and slammed it straight into her face. 

The two eventually started to rolling around in grass and their shrieks and yelling soon garnered the attention of the rest of their friends. Katara and Suki, who had been watching the whole fiasco since it started, shot each other helpless looks. Suki burst into loud laughter when Katara pulled a faux-exasperated expression after watching Sokka dump an entire handful of muddy puddle water on Toph’s hair and clothes as she screamed. 

At that point, Suki is doubling over with side-splitting laughter, bending over and stabilizing her hands on her knees. Katara was cackling alongside her, sure, but part of her dreaded the fact that they were definitely going to smell absolutely horrid when they eventually tire out,  _ if  _ that happened of course. Especially since Toph despised taking baths with a burning passion, which was Katara’s least favorite habit of Toph’s, amongst many others. 

What she failed to notice was the fact that there was a giant mud puddle located right next to Zuko’s tent and by the time she had, it was much too late. Sokka had already picked up a kicking and screaming Toph by the armpits and steadied himself, fully intended on throwing her in. Katara stood up immediately and flailed her arms around, hollering at her brother who was very obviously trying to pretend as though he couldn’t hear her. 

“WAIT, SOKKA, DON’T-” She screamed and gasped loudly when he chucked Toph into the puddle, causing a huge splash and effectively soaking her within nasty-smelling mud water. She let out an outraged scream and yanked him in the puddle as he cackled. The two continued to roll around in the mud, splashing each other with puddle water as they shrieked and screamed with laughter. 

At that point, Katara thought that she and Suki were going to pass out from laughing too hard and it only set them off even more when Zuko and Aang just decided to return from collecting food and water from the stream located a quick walk away from camp. The two had been walking alongside each other, talking casually as Aang balanced a basketful of tree berries on his head.

“Zuko, c’mon, you gotta try this one! I’m telling you!” Aang tugged on Zuko’s sleeve while popping a fruit from the basket into his mouth with his other hand. 

“And I told you I’m not hungry. Besides, I don’t really like berries that much anyways-“ 

The sound of Sokka screeching at the top of his lungs interrupted their conversation and made them jump in their spot. They whipped their heads around and watched as Sokka and Toph tumbled around within the mud, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Aang bursts into laughter next to him and Zuko shoots Katara an exasperated look, to which she shrugs her shoulders. For someone who was just screaming at Sokka and Toph at the top of her lungs merely seconds ago, she seemed way too tired to deal with their mess. 

“What happened?” Zuko asked and Katara shakes her head.

“Sokka is reaping what he sowed.” She answers. “Honestly, as long as they clean themselves up, it’s not my problem if they want to smell like sewage for the next week.”

Zuko makes a face, clearly not enjoying the sound of that. 

“C’mon, fight! Fight! Fight!” Aang cheers and Katara slaps him on the shoulder, shooting him a look of faux irritation. He giggles and rubs the back of his neck and Katara simply laughs alongside him. 

Maybe it was from being cooped up on Appa for hours straight, but it seemed as if Toph and Sokka’s energy was limitless. Katara wasn’t sure how long they had been going at each other, but their little brawl in the mud had yet to be over. At this point she was sure that her brother and Toph were still little kids at heart. It had pretty much been confirmed by now by the sight of them chasing each other around and throwing mud balls at each other with shrieky laughter. 

At some point, Zuko had kicked off his boots and changed into sandals as he winded down for the afternoon and Katara hadn’t noticed. However, Aang did, and he came up with an honestly  _ awful _ idea. Well, an awful one for Zuko at least. He bumped Katara on the elbow, harboring a devilish grin and mouthed “Watch this” to her. She watched him curiously as he approached Zuko with the straightest possible face he could pull while stifling a giggle. Once he got the older boy’s attention, he grabbed his boots, and chucked them straight at Sokka and Toph. Zuko gaped his mouth in horror as both of his shoes smacked them in some way or another, one hitting Toph on the back of her head and the other tumbling off of Sokka’s shoulder. 

Suddenly, they froze, turning down to look at what hit them. Recognition dawned within their eyes upon seeing Zuko’s black and white boots and they snapped their head up at Zuko himself, honing in one him like a predator would with prey. Zuko barely had time to shoot Aang and exasperatedly betrayed look before Sokka let out a war cry and yanked him down into the puddle with them. He screamed and cussed angrily at them, even more so when Toph splashed him in the face with muddy water. Sokka howled with laughter as Zuko chased after Toph, trying to kick up mud at her as he hollered curse words at the top of his lungs. 

From the sidelines, Suki, Aang and Katara lost it, laughing so hard that they nearly cried. Katara’s sides nearly gave out when she watched Zuko then tackle Toph and hold her down in the mud as she screamed and tried to kick at him. At that point, their laughter had been reduced from loud, boisterous cackling to quiet wheezes as they struggled for air, holding onto each other lest they fall over. 

Nobody was sure how long their mud brawl had lasted, but Katara was so glad that they had decided to stay in the middle of nowhere, because anyplace else would’ve kicked them out for public disturbance. 

The three of them lost track of how long their brawl went on, as it became nothing more than a mess of screams and curses and mud and shrieky laughter. But eventually, they were reduced to a mess of panting and exhausted bodies, tangled up within one another and sopping wet with muddy water. 

Zuko splashes mud on them with a flick of his hand and the two are way too worn out to retaliate.

“I hate you guys.” 

Toph reached over and flicked him on the nose. He growled unhappily, slapping her hand away. 

“We love you too.” laughed Sokka. 

When they had finally decided to climb out of the mud puddle, they were almost immediately greeted by Suki and Katara. Both girls were trying their hardest to not burst out laughing at the way the three of them looked: dirty, soaking wet, hair disheveled and almost entirely caked with mud. 

Try is the key word, and try they did to keep up an expression of irritation. But Toph decided to flash a huge, unashamed, and unapologetic grin at the older girls that nearly reached the tip of her ears and then throw her arms around Sokka and Zuko’s necks, causing them to stumble a bit off balance. Katara and Suki then rolled their eyes and laughed out loud, shaking their heads.

“Alright you three, bath,  _ now _ , you guys  _ stink _ .” Katara ordered.

“Ugh, don’t have to tell me twice.” Zuko answered, taking off his mud-covered tunics before starting off towards the river. Sokka nodded and stripped down a bit too, following along.

Toph huffed when Katara tried leading her to the river, knowing well that she wasn’t going to bathe unless forced. 

“Katara, I’m fine-“ Toph protested, bending the mud out of her clothes with ease. “See? All clean.”

Katara shook her head.

“No, not all clean, you still smell like rotten penguin meat.” She pressed. “C’mon, I’ll help you wash your hair.” 

“Hmph.” Toph pouted. “Whatever,  _ mom _ .”

“What is the matter with you? It’s not like I’m gonna let you drown! Stop being a scaredy-cat!” 

“I’m  _ not _ scared of the water!” Toph countered.

“ _ Righttt _ . Sure you aren’t.” 

“AM NOT!”

In front of them, Sokka and Zuko were sharing helpless glances between one another as they listened to the two girls bicker and argue like they usually did.

Katara helped Toph with washing her hair once they reached the river, sitting them both down on a rock that sat just barely under the surface of the water. Toph was grateful because she not so secretly was terrified of being in bodies of water, deep bodies of water especially. Sokka and Zuko were standing up in the deeper end of the stream and washing themselves off as the dried mud and dirt that stuck to their bodies dissolved within the water. 

Aang and Suki joined them not too long after, going for a swim around the river with Katara joining them once she finished helping Toph. Toph stuck to her spot on the rock, listening to her friends splash around and chase each other in the water. Only Zuko followed her idea of relaxing and watching the fun, choosing to narrate the trouble their friends were getting up to instead of joining them. 

“They’re playing Possum Chicken right now.” Zuko deadpans, brushing away a wet bang that clung to his forehead.

“Fun. Who against who?”

“Ah, you know, Sokka and Suki versus Aang and Katara.”

“Pfttt, so predictable.” She flicked a pebble into the water. “HEY DUNDERHEADS, MIX IT UP A BIT!” She then calls out to them, interrupting their game. Zuko chuckles softly next to her. 

They actually do follow her advice and it becomes a game of boys versus girls after Katara manages to knock Suki down off of Sokka’s shoulders. 

“Aang is trying to yank Suki’s leg and oop- he slipped and missed-“ Zuko narrates while Toph listens. A shriek of laughter can be heard coming from their friends.

“Sokka has his hand behind his back and oh, he splashes some water up and tries to blind Suki. Katara stumbles backward,” 

Toph could hear Katara hollering angrily at her brother, which pretty much confirmed Zuko’s report.

“Sweet.” 

If Zuko was a sports commentator, he would lose his job on the first day for sure. 

“And Sokka rushes forward, Aang has his hands out and he shoves Suki by the shoulders.” A yelp coming from Suki could be heard. “Oop, and she’s down” Zuko concludes monotonously and Toph nods her head. From their spot they could hear a loud splash that was followed by the sounds of Aang and Sokka cheering and whooping. Katara yells at Sokka for his dirty move all while Suki just laughs along with them. 

“All is fair in love and war.” Toph nods sagely and Zuko snorts. 

And Toph relaxes, listening to the sounds of her companions laughing and playing and splashing and shoving and chasing each other around. She doesn't mind watching from a distance and neither does Zuko, they were alike in that way. (Which was why he was secretly her favorite, but that was never coming out of her mouth,  _ ever _ .) Toph was just happy to be included, happy to be part of something and happy to be her whole unapologetic self without the locked rooms and the quiet hushes. 

Eventually, when she gets a little bit bored of sitting on her perch on the rock, she taps on Zuko’s shoulder to get his attention and whispers to him a rather daring plan of hers. Begrudgingly he agrees, and they make their attack when Sokka and Katara are versing Aang and Suki in another game of Possum Chicken. 

Zuko decided to rush in and crash their game with a Toph who was cackling maniacally on his shoulders. Toph shoved at both Katara and Aang and the two flail their arms in an attempt to get away. They yelp and jerk around, clearly not expecting the sudden surprise attack. Sokka and Suki struggled to balance themselves while their teammates rocked violently back and forth on their shoulders. Meanwhile, Zuko kept himself steady, even when Toph was screaming and jerking and shoving from on top of him. 

Despite putting up the best defense they had, Aang and Katara both fell off of their respective partners’ shoulders and the last one standing was Toph. They both rose and broke the surface of the water quickly, breathlessly laughing as Toph whooped and cheered for herself. 

“TAKE THAT DUNDERHEADS! SMOKEY AND I ARE THE WINNERS!” She hollers and immediately the others protest.

“That was no fair, you snuck up on us!” Katara countered with a fond smile on her face.

“Yeah!” Aang agreed.

“Hey.” Zuko shrugged. “All is fair in love and war after all.” 

From there, everyone burst into laughter, including Zuko who had a hard time stifling a smile of his own. On shore, Zuko let Toph climb off of his shoulders. Toph shook herself off and punched him hard on the shoulder, to which he cursed loudly and let out an unhappy growl. She smiled to herself; he had earned it. 

-

_ Sokka watches the two, recalling a memory from not too long ago. He remembers because it happened on the day when Aang and Zuko had come back from the ruins and learned that fancy dance move that he had forgotten the name of. Zuko walked by him while slouching, groaning softly to himself and rubbing his back.  _

_ “What’s with you?” Sokka asked. _

_ “Toph. Again.” Zuko answers monotonously and Sokka remembers vaguely hearing Toph demand another piggyback ride from the firebender a while ago. Had she let him off the hook just now? “I don’t know if she’s aware of how heavy she is.” _

_ Sokka laughs. _

_ “Oh, she does. It’s no accident.” _

_ “I don’t understand how she can be so heavy, she looks like she weighs about as much as a turtleduck.”  _

_ “Yeah. Get used to it, cause she’s not gonna let you off the hook anytime soon.”  _

_ Zuko rubs the back of his neck, looking down at his feet. _

_ “Tuh. No kidding. She’s been teasing me and pushing me around a lot lately.” He winces and his voice suddenly goes quiet. “I feel kinda bad. She must be really pissed off at me for burning her feet. I don’t know how to make it up to her.” _

_ Sokka looks up at him with an astonished look. Maybe it was because he knew Toph for so long, but in the moment, he couldn’t help but think of Zuko as being  _ **_incredibly_ ** _ dense.  _

_ “Mad at you? Are you serious?”  _

_ “Huh?”  _

_ “The more appropriate thing for me to say actually is ‘Congrats’.” _

_ “Congrats?” Zuko tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”  _

_ “Yeah. Toph’s just doing that cause she likes your attention. She’s adopted you, I think. You got a nickname, right? What was it again?” _

_ “...Smokey..” _

_ “Ha. Fitting.” Sokka chuckles and it earns an irritated frown out of Zuko. “Anyways, welcome to the family, buddy. Well, at least in her book. You get to be a big brother again with someone less murder-y. Think you can handle it?” _

_ Zuko just stared blankly and blinked at the other boy. Sokka sighed.  _

_ “Y’know what? Scratch that. Doesn’t matter. You have no choice. All I can say is good luck, because she’s a handful. All of them are, but especially her.”  _

_ Zuko pauses and Sokka thinks he’s going to cry, but he surprisingly doesn’t. Instead he swallows and blinks, nodding. _

_ “I’ll do my best.” He says hoarsely. _

_ Sokka smiled. _

_ “Good.”  _

_ - _

“So much for a relaxing bath…” Katara chuckled to herself.

“Ok, you gotta admit, that was fun though.” Sokka threw his arm around her shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah I know. We definitely have to do that more often.” 

“Ugh, by that you mean ridden around and commanded like an ostrich horse?” Zuko complained, drying himself off with a towel. Aang bumped him in the shoulder with his elbow. 

“Don’t be such a grouch, Zuko!” 

“Ugh.”

As Toph was wiping herself down with her own towel, she let herself go silent as she listened to the rest of her companions chatter about odd things. About how smelly Appa was starting to get, about if they wanted to train in the afternoon or the morning tomorrow, about inside jokes and good memories and funny stories and everything.

It felt nice, it felt warm, even when the night cold settled onto their damp skin and they shivered and gnashed their teeth. Their next conversation was them proceeding to complain about how cold it was and how they needed to get the fire going immediately once they got back to camp. 

And it feels even warmer when Zuko starts the fire and they all huddle around, laughing shakily and pulling blankets and sweaters over their shoulders. Sokka cracks a joke about being cold and apparently it was funny enough that Zuko let himself laugh out loud for once. They chatter, filling up the previously empty and barren space with something warm. And for the rest of the night, Toph falls silent and listens, happy and content. 

——-

The whole face touching thing between Toph and her friends starts on some odd night while they were camping just out of view from another Fire Nation town. She hadn’t done anything the whole day except wait for Sokka and Aang to come back from grocery shopping in town. Honestly, Toph couldn’t understand why Katara trusted those two to go shopping unsupervised. They always came back having spent more money than intended and with way more rice candies and sweets than anything else. (besides meat of course, thanks to Sokka.)

“Just how  _ many _ of these rice treats did you buy?” Katara shook her head. Aang rubbed the back of his neck nervously as she shifted through their groceries. “You guys bought a whole bag of them?!” 

“Actually two.” Aang said quietly.

“ _ Two?! _ ” 

“Hey, in our defense, we were left unsupervised!” Sokka raised his hands and Katara shot an irritated look at him. “If you wanna complain so much, maybe you should babysit us next time!”

“Trust me, there won’t be a next time.” his sister grumbled.

Half of them would end up eating rice candies for dinner instead of something healthy, much to Katara’s apparent chagrin. But mid way through chomping down on his third rice treat, Sokka suddenly remembered something important. 

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Sokka breaks the silence and Toph could hear him rummaging around his pocket and pulling out what sounded like sheets of paper. “Me and Aang found these in town!”

The paper crumpled slightly in his hands with everyone leaning in closer to take a good look. Mixed reactions came from the crowd, with some groaning and others sounding more excited than anything.

“Oh, man.”

“Wow.”

“Ohh shit!” 

“Um, hello?” Toph raised a hand. “Kinda blind here.”

Sokka chuckled nervously.

“Right, sorry. They’re our wanted posters, I found them in town.”

“Wanted posters?!” Toph chirped with way more excitement than normal. “Who's got the highest bounty? Is it me?”

Sokka rolled his eyes at her expectant face.

“No, Aang does, dummy. He’s the  _ Avatar _ , remember?” 

Toph’s smile dropped.

“Oh. Right. That would make a lot more sense.” 

Zuko leaned over and peered at his picture over Sokka’s shoulder. Apparently, he didn’t like what he saw, because he made an unhappy noise and angrily crossed his arms.

“Why can’t they ever update my hair?! I don’t wear that stupid ponytail anymore!” He exclaimed. 

Everyone burst out into laughter, save for Toph who just wore a confused expression. Once again, she had to hope that she’ll be able to figure out what they’re talking about sooner or later. 

“Zuko, man, I love you and all but I still can’t figure out how you were able to look yourself in the mirror with that hairstyle.” Sokka bit into his rice candy while Zuko just groaned with even more anger, hiding his face behind his choppy bangs.

“No, yeah. It was pretty bad. Like,  _ really _ bad.” Suki goodnaturedly bumped him on the shoulder. Zuko curled into himself even more with embarrassment, grumbling inaudibly. 

“Okay, is anyone gonna fill me in on why Zuko having a ponytail was so bad?” Toph spoke up and Zuko shot a look to everyone that just screamed  _ please don’t _ . 

Much to his chagrin, nobody listened.

“It wasn’t  _ just _ a ponytail.” answered Katara with a rare, smug grin on her face. “His head was completely bald except for for the little space in the back for his ponytail. Like, completely bald.”

Toph’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped and stayed open. From beside her, she could hear Zuko yelling at Katara for telling the  _ one person who didn’t know _ about his embarrassing phase, but Toph was just struggling to imagine Zuko without his shaggy hair. 

“Wait. Back up.” Toph raised her hand. “You’re telling me that Smokey was bald?! Like  _ Aang _ ?!” 

Aang, in turn, giggled loudly.

“Yeah, honestly. It was pretty close to how I looked now.” He confirmed. 

Toph reached over and tugged hard on Zuko’s bang, earning an unhappy growl out of him. 

“I’m so glad I’m blind.” she concluded and Zuko shoved her to the grass playfully. Toph sat up and slammed her hand into the ground, conjuring up a pillar of earth that hit Zuko right in the side and knocked the air out of him. Laughter bubbled up from all around and the conversation dissolved into everyone poking fun at each other’s portraits. 

“Okay, okay, my ears are not that big!” Sokka complained and Katara leaned over, glancing between her brother and his picture.

“Eh, no, it’s pretty accurate-“ She smirked and Sokka playfully shoved her face away. In turn, she regained balance and started slapping him on the shoulder, earning indignant squawks out of him. 

“Toph, what do you think, do you think my ears are this big?” Sokka suddenly turned to Toph with an expectant face, holding the poster out right in front of her.

Everyone went silent and Toph simply shook her head with obvious disappointment. It took Sokka much too long to realize his mistake.

“.....Oh...right.” He smiled nervously and once again, everyone started laughing at him.

“Two times in an hour.” Toph stressed. “That’s gotta be a record, Snoozles.” 

She blew a strand of hair out of her face.

“Y’know, kinda feeling left out here.” she continued.

“What do you mean?” 

“I wish I knew what you guys looked like.” Toph accidentally let out. She quickly realized her mistake once she felt everyone staring at her and hid her face behind her bangs, going silent. 

Katara was the first one to speak up, walking over and kneeling next to her. 

“Why didn’t you say something? We can help you with that!” and Toph was almost certain Katara was smiling. 

She was about to ask what she meant by that but before she could, Katara gently took hold of her wrists. Toph waited as the older girl raised her hands and placed them on her face, one on each cheek. Immediately, Toph could tell that her skin was weirdly smooth, it’s not like they had the supplies for a daily skincare routine after all.

“Uhhhh, Katara, what am I supposed to do?” 

“Well, since you told us you wanted to know what we looked like, I figured that you could try to map out our faces. Maybe it will help?” 

Toph tilted her head and hesitantly started to feel out Katara’s face starting from the cheeks. For the most part, it was smooth, but the little imperfections and bumps on the surface of her skin were just barely noticeable. Her hand brushed over the side of her face and found Katara’s famous hair loopies. Toph smirked and hooked her finger, tugging hard on them. 

“Huh. Hair loopies.” 

“Erk!” Katara grunted weakly, patting the top of Toph’s hand in an effort to tell her to go easy on them. “Yeah..hair loopies.”

She played with them briefly before moving on to the tip of her nose and poking at it. Katara snickered and poked her nose back and Toph batted her hand away. Afterwards, she traced the shape of Katara’s eyes and patted her roughly on 

the temple with the palm of her hand. Her final move was pinching Katara’s cheek hard and pulling it off to the side, earning one last irritated nose from the older girl.

“Yeowch!” she exclaimed, batting away Toph’s hand. “Okay, okay..are you done?”

“Yep, basically!” 

Aang was the next one to volunteer to have calloused hands explore his face and immediately Toph could tell that there was a massive difference between him and Katara. He had virtually no blemishes in his skin except if you count dimples. The creases forming at the edges of his mouth was a telltale sign that he was beaming at her. 

There’s expectant excitement practically bouncing off of him and she has to stifle a smile back herself. From the cheeks, she moved on to trace his eyes, his wide and bright eyes. And after brushing her finger over the tip of his round nose, here came the most interesting part. She knew he was bald but she’s never felt his tattoos before. The tattooed skin was slightly raised and went from his forehead and all the way down into his back, but her finger didn’t trace past his neck. 

“So your tattoos run  _ all over _ your body?” 

“Yeah!” Aang chirped. “Let me show you!” 

And Aang began to trace the arrow pattern, first on her arms while he explained that his tattoo ran over his legs and down to his feet. Afterwards, he traced it on her forehead and over her head and down the back of her neck. 

“Woah. Now you’re making me wanna get tattoos.”

“I don’t think that's a good idea-“ spoke up Katara.

“Why? Aang has tattoos and he’s 12 like me!”

“Yeah, no. We just don’t trust whatever you have in mind.” Suki laughed. 

“Oh, whatever!” 

Then came Sokka, whose appearance was of course not as remarkable as Aang’s, but he beamed at her the same way. Compared to Aang and his sister, his jaw was stronger and his nose was longer. He hadn’t had access to a razor in a while, so his cheek is slightly stubbled and scratchy. The sides of his head are shaved and like Aang, he had dimples too. 

The last thing she does with him is grab on his right ear and tug hard on his lob, making him squawk loudly. 

“Well? Handsome right?”

Toph scoffed.

“Definitely not.” she answered and Sokka let out a noise of disappointment. 

He managed to get back at her a few seconds later when he grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth. Much to her disgust, he then proceeded to lick the palm of her hand as she screamed loudly and kicked at his chest. Once he doubled back from the kick, Toph immediately scooted away whilst everyone was letting out loud bouts of laughter.

“You are  _ disgusting _ !” laughed Katara and her brother just smiled devilishly. 

“Hey, it’s just my big brother duty to be as gross as possible.  _ Get used to it _ .” His smile was so smug until a small pillar of rock quickly jabbed him in his side and knocked him over. Everyone else, Toph included, proceeded to wheeze even more with laughter. 

Suki was next in line and the most noticeable thing about her appearance was the scar that ran horizontally right under her left eye. The skin felt different, it was sunken in slightly and it was rubbery and tight. She lightly scratched at it and Suki laughed.

“Fan accident.” She stresses.

“What happened?”

“I was with a new recruit and I was showing her a move, the Badgermole Split I think it was? Anyways, I could tell she was nervous so it was a mistake when I came up behind her as a surprise attack. She panicked and….”

“Slice.”

“Yeah.” 

“Ouch. Is it noticeable?”

“Not anymore.” And to Toph’s surprise, the older girl sounds disappointed. “It’s been a while. It faded.” 

“Do all scars go away sooner or later?”

Suki paused for a moment.

“Some. Not all. It depends.” She answers slowly.

“Oh.” 

Toph wordlessly continued to map out Suki’s face afterwards and she noted that Suki was  _ pretty _ . She had a rather difficult time biting back a compliment. Toph traced her eyes and went as far as feeling Suki’s bun on the back of her head. She was almost sure that her looks definitely matched her boldness and charisma.

And everyone had noticed that Zuko had gone abnormally quiet, not even making a peep throughout the entire ordeal. When Toph goes to kneel down next to him, he sucks in a breath and quietly asks her if she could skip out on touching his face. The way that his heart fluttered nervously was a telltale sign that he not only was uncomfortable but also hiding something. 

But the way he said it sounded like a  _ Maybe someday, but not tonight.  _ She nods and understands, deciding to respect his boundaries.

Instead she runs her hands through his choppy hair and ruffles it up considerably while he grunts and growls without making any effort to stop her. His buttons are pushed further when she finds a not quite closed up indent on his earlobe and tugs on it  _ hard _ . He squirms and shoots up his hand to grab at her wrist but barely stops himself in time.

“What’s this?” Toph knows, but she enjoys irritating Zuko.

“An earring.” he grumbles quietly.

“Woah, you wore earrings?” Aang spoke up. Zuko nodded.

“I lived with sailors through my teen years, of course I wore earrings.” 

“You lived with sailors?!” Toph exclaimed excitedly. “Why doesn’t anyone ever tell me this stuff?! Can you teach me some swears?” 

“Oh, um, well, we used to say-“

“ _ Don’t _ you dare.” interrupts Katara, holding a finger over Zuko’s mouth. “She already abuses the ones she knows, we don’t need you to expand her vocabulary even more.” 

When Katara recoils, Toph bumps Zuko with her elbow that basically demanded that  _ later on you better tell me.  _ He nods softly and she’s pretty certain that he got the message. 

After that, Sokka decides to keep the posters, treating them as if they were trophies. She would find herself later on loudly complaining that whoever put out their bounties didn’t make her worth the most, even if it was in comparison to the Avatar and the Fire Nation’s traitor prince. Sokka would lament that he was worth the least, to which Suki grabs him and plants a wet smooch on his cheek. 

“You’re worth a lot because they don’t know you.” She says sweetly. “Not like _ I do _ .” 

They leaned into each other for another kiss and behind her, Toph could hear Zuko groan with disgust. She fake gagged and Katara giggled at her while she covered Aang’s widening eyes until Sokka and Suki  _ finally _ pulled away from each other after what felt like forever. 

“Can you guys stop being disgusting for five seconds?” groaned Zuko and Sokka planted one final kiss on Suki’s check.

“Nope!” He answered while Suki snickered.

“Well, it was worth a shot.” Toph bumped Zuko with her elbow goodnaturedly.

“Ugh.” He complained, starting to make his way back to his tent. “Animals. All of you are animals. Goodbye.”

Everyone dissolved into laughter, save for Zuko even though he was working hard to hide a smile of his own. 

_ And later on, much later on when they’re no longer on the run and alone in the quiet backrooms of the Caldera’s palace, Zuko finally fulfills his unsaid promise. Toph’s not sure if he really is ready based off of his throbbing heart, but he insists that it was okay. It was okay, he was ready. He could do this. So she obliges.  _

_ The right side of his face was smooth, slightly stubbled, just like Sokka’s face. Sharp jaw, long nose, slick eyes, he was a textbook pretty boy. But just to make the atmosphere less tense, she pinches his cheek and pulls hard on what little she could grab. He grumbles unhappily but makes no effort to stop her whatsoever.  _

_ Toph then played with his hair for good measure, it was the best way to irritate him after all.  _

_ After that, her hand hovers over his right side and he sucks in a breath. His heartbeat quickens like a frightened jackrabbit and Toph is just about to lower her hand when he grabs her wrist and keeps it in place. _

_ “No, it’s okay. I can do this.” He says, voice so shaky and so unfamiliar to her ears. She nods. _

_ The skin was like a wasteland compared to the other side of his face. It was mottled, rough and felt like dry leather. Creases and uneven bumps and ridges were present almost all over the surface of the right side of his face. Even she could tell that the marred skin was tight over his eye, the eye that he always squinted and could never fully open again. And she could feel how twisted and angry the scar was taut over his face. It was a jarring transition, one side unmarked and fine and the other thin, burnt away and representative of years of a broken heart. _

_ Toph doesn’t ask what happened, she could only imagine the story behind it. The way Zuko held his breath and his voice faltered every time he talked about his father. How uncomfortable the room got whenever someone mentioned Ozai in any way possible. She put the pieces together and it made her feel sick. But for his sake, she wouldn’t act out her feelings right now. No, it wasn’t the time.  _

_ “It was him.” Zuko says breathlessly. “My f- Ozai. He-“ _

_ “It’s okay. I know.” she interrupts him, noting how his heart was practically throbbing out of his chest. “You don’t have to say it.” _

_ He relaxes. _

_ “Thank you.” _

_ She smiles and pokes at the scarred skin.  _

_ “Pretty badass, dontcha think?” Toph smiled slyly, trying to make the room feel a bit lighter. _

_ The former traitor, now firelord, sits and blinks at her. Zuko’s scar was a lot of things to others. Scary, disgraceful, intimidating, the mark of a traitor. Badass was a first. _

_ “You think so?” He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Toph smiled and punched him softly on the arm. _

_ “Totally.”  _

——

Sleepless and terror filled nights happened more often than not for them. Especially since Sozin’s Comet approached and grew nearer day by day, minute by minute, second by second, creeping up like a thief in the night ready to take their lives and more. They all had their nightmares, about dying, about someone else dying and about not being able to protect each other. 

By far, the worst one would have to be the last one. Because as  _ terrifying _ as the thought was, any of them would rather let their own star die out than ever like the heartbeats of their loves go quiet. They never will say out loud, of course, and that fact will always be one of those unsaid things, but  _ they know _ . And it is terrifying, so utterly terrifying. 

The war has done nothing but take, take and take. 

They’re on Ember Island now, hiding in Zuko’s vacation home, which, by the way, made no sense whatsoever to Toph. Katara explained that they were hiding in plain sight, but doesn’t account for the fact that Zuko,  _ the banished prince of the Fire Nation so infamously known for betraying his nation, (who also by the way has an extremely noticeable scar)  _ had yet to be recognized by the locals. 

Maybe Zuko was unrecognizable without his ponytail. Maybe the locals were blind like her, except without seismic sense. But so far, by some miracle, they hadn’t been caught. 

But it’s yet another sleepless night where Toph will end up wandering the halls of their little home aimlessly. The crickets chirp outside and it’s quiet, save for Zuko’s distant snores in some room down the hall. 

It was that same recurring nightmare plaguing her, the one that was getting more prominent and real night by night. One filled with the screams of her companions and crashing and clashing and it smells like smoke and blood. The world around her is a blur, but she knows that it is falling. Her senses are overwhelmed to their breaking points and her heart is racing hard in her chest. But through the earth, their heartbeats were the loudest, the most noticeable, despite all the noise. She feels everything, their muscles working, their breathing faltering and the blood rushing through their veins. But then, almost as scripted, everything stops and goes blank. There is a brief moment of silence, almost peaceful, before she is sucked into the void of panic when Toph realizes that the heartbeats are gone,  _ gone, gone.  _ Now it is too quiet and she can’t feel anything. She cries out for her friends, desperate and helpless, but nobody answers, nobody comes. The smell of blood is so much stronger now, and before the horrible reality can hit her, she jolts upright, sweating and panting with her heart thumping in her throat. 

Toph had gone around the house twice at that point and had found 5 heartbeats both times. She feels weak for being so desperate to be so sure, but she doesn’t care. Currently, she stands outside Sokka’s door, unmoving as she listens to him snore loudly from his room. She’s not really sure why Sokka, perhaps she felt the safest with him. But without even thinking, she grabs the handle and turns, stepping into the doorway.

His snoring falters as he wakes up from the noise. Sokka once mentioned to her that ever since he became the oldest young person in his village after his father left, (now he was no longer the oldest, Zuko was, but old habits die hard), he practically trained himself to be a light sleeper. He had to be, if anyone were in need during the night, he would be up on his feet immediately, ready to help. 

“Toph?” He mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “What’s wrong?” 

She must look as lost and pained as she feels, because there’s so much concern in his voice and it aches. 

“You okay?” He asked softly, sitting up and shifting the covers around. “Come here.” 

He patted the covers next to him and to his surprise, his coaxing worked. Immediately she shut the door behind her and made a beeline for his bed, snuggling into the covers with her back turned to him.

Sokka frowned.

“Hey.” he whispered, shaking her shoulder slightly. She scrunched up in response. “Tell Sokka what’s wrong.”

Toph makes an unhappy noise, but she sounded sad and vulnerable more than anything. Still, her mouth was clamped shut and it seemed as if she was adamant on staying quiet. 

“You’re not gonna tell me what's bugging you?” 

“No.” She answers and winces at how hoarse her voice is. “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

Sokka frowned again.

“You sure? You don’t sound okay.”

“How many times do I have to say- eep!” She was going to grumble at him again but Sokka attacked the back of her neck with tickles before she could finish. 

The first thing she did was flail her arms and legs around, hitting Sokka several times, but he still wasn’t letting up. So Toph let out a noise that sounded almost too much like a shriek and buried her reddening face into Sokka’s pillow. She tossed and turned and weakly tried to kick him off, trying her best to hold back her snickers and failing miserably.

“S-Sokka!” Toph yelped. 

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong or am I gonna have to keep doing this?” He teased, tickling her in the side. 

“Fuck off, its too early for this shit!” She whined, kicking at his leg. Sokka was able to dodge it.

“It’s never too early!” He laughed, going for her ribcage next. That was when she shrieked  _ loud  _ and he winced at the sudden noise. Toph kicked rapidly at his chest and he was barely able to dodge them. 

“Shhh, you’re gonna wake up the house!” He hissed and shoved a finger in front of her mouth. Toph slapped his hand away and scoffed at the audacity he had.

“Then stop tickling me!” She snapped back, landing a punch right on his shoulder. Sokka doubled back and cackled, diving back down to tickle her even harder. 

“How about,” He put his finger to his chin in fake thought. “Nope!” 

She resorted to curling up in a ball and burying her face into a pillow, shoulders shaking with laughter. He went for her neck next and Toph scrunched up, shrieks and laughs being muffled into the pillow. Sokka winced at the noise, sorely hoping that nobody woke up from that. But not before long, she let out a loud whine and he immediately stopped, letting her breathe.

She panted and refused to remove her face from the pillow.

“I fucking hate you.” she grumbled breathlessly and Sokka laughed, bumping her weakly on the shoulder. 

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong now?” He smiled.

“Just for that, no.” Toph growled until he started poking her sides again. She shrieked 

“Okay, okay!” Toph yelped, batting away his hands. “You win!” Her face flushed as she buried her face into his pillow again.

Sokka smiled and dramatically clapped his hand to his chest.

“Woah. I cannot believe that I have defeated THE Toph Beifong. The honor. I shall always remember this moment.”

“Shut the hell up.” She moaned, kicking him softly.

It was just then they were interrupted by two heard heavy footsteps right outside Sokka’s door before it flew open. Sokka snapped his head over to the doorway to see Suki and Zuko standing there, eyes heavy from sleep and both looking sorely unamused. He flashed them an apologetic grin once he realized that they must’ve woken them up.

“What the hell is going on in here.” Zuko grumbled and it sounded more like a demand than a question.

“You guys are so loud….” Suki rubbed her eyes.

“Sorry.” Sokka grinned and rubbed the back of his head. “Tickle fight.” He explained and Toph groaned into her pillow. 

“Tickle fight.” Zuko repeated blankly. Him and Suki glanced between each other with exasperation. “It’s 2 in the fucking morning.” 

“Yeah, that’s what Toph said, but it’s never too early for one! Isn’t that right, Toph?”

“I hate you.” 

“Okay, okay.” Suki rubbed the sides of her head. “What even happened here?” 

Sokka shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s what I was trying to figure out actually, but-”

“Nightmare.” Toph mumbled quietly. “I had a nightmare.”

Sokka, Suki and Zuko all glanced between each other, now wearing faces of concern. Sokka looked down at her as she finally removed her face from the pillow. Suki was the first one to make a beeline for the bed, climbing on and sitting down on Toph’s left while Sokka was on her right. Zuko stood awkwardly in the door, staring them down with wide eyes and unsure about what to do. Sokka shook his head fondly and mouthed at him to come and join them. 

“A-Are you-” he stammered

“Zuko.” Sokka said blankly. 

“Are you sure I should-” He looked sideways. “I mean, I can leave if you guys can handle it-”

“Man, just shut up and get over here.”

Zuko nodded slowly and made his way over to the bed, climbing in as both Sokka and Suki tried to make room for him. The bed was definitely not made for 4 people, but they would make due with what they had. Not only was it not made for four people, but Sokka, Suki and Zuko were big, and they had a difficult time trying to position themselves comfortably under the covers. 

“Okay!” Suki laughed breathlessly within the midst of tangled limbs. “Are we all comfortable?”

“I’m trapped.” Toph grumbles, squished between Sokka and Zuko.

“Why are we trying to suffocate each other again?” Zuko complains.

“Being part of the group also means being part of group cuddles.” Sokka answered sagely. Zuko rolled his eyes.

“Ugh, I can’t believe I committed treason for this.” he hissed and Sokka snickered. “Can’t believe this….” 

And after more shifting and arguing amongst themselves, they finally settled on Suki and Zuko at the sides and Sokka and Toph in the middle. It was far from comfortable, but surprisingly nobody complained. 

“What was your nightmare about?” Suki asked quietly. “If you wanna talk about it, that is.”

Toph paused.

“No, it’s okay. I’m fine.” She flipped over onto her back. “I just keep having the same one. About um..everyone dying…”

“Oh, er.” Zuko stammered. “Well...we’re not dead?”

Toph kicked him on the butt.

“I know that, dumbass, but….”

“Sozin’s Comet.” Sokka finished her sentence. “It’s bugging you, isn’t it?” 

Toph went silent.

“Shit, me too.” Sokka agreed. “I’m sorry, girlie. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“ _ We _ shouldn’t have to deal with this.” Toph countered. “You guys are not that much older than me.”

“Pft, easy for you to say.” Zuko butted in. “Aren’t you like 8?” 

Sokka and Suki sniggered while Toph huffed unhappily and kicked Zuko hard in the butt again. 

“I’m  _ 12 _ .” She stressed, taking his bait. “And three quarters too, I’m almost a teen!” 

“Ooh, she’s almost a teen!” Sokka added more fuel. 

“Yeah, watch out Sokka!” Zuko sarcastically shot back and the two boys snickered while Toph was growing even more outraged. 

“By the way, does turning 13 mean that I’m gonna have to shave my head bald and wear an ugly ponytail?” She clapped back and from around her she could hear Sokka and Suki collectively gasp. Suki’s hand flew up to her mouth. 

“Ouchhhh.” 

“Burn!” 

Zuko was  _ fuming _ .

“Do you guys  _ have _ to bring that up every single waking moment?! I don’t even wear it anymore for fucks sake!” He screamed, not even bothering to whisper. Sokka and Suki were quick to shush him. 

“Okay, but it's the fact that you did in the first place.” Toph smiled slyly. 

“Ugh, you little brat-“

“Okay, okay!” Suki interrupted, sitting up and resting both her hands on their shoulders. “You two, shush. Quit riling each other up.” 

“Hmph.”

“Fine.”

“Good. Everyone, sleep, we have early training tomorrow. Goodnight.” She ended, laying back down in the covers. She snuggled up with Sokka, stretching and wrapping her arms around him. She situated her head up against his shoulder and he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, nuzzling his nose into her hair. 

“Goodnight.” He mumbled.

“G’night.”

“Night.”

For the rest of the night, Suki managed to wake up about a total of three times because she just had to share a bed with three of the group’s loudest snorers. But even she too eventually ended up falling asleep, granted after covering her ears by wrapping a pillow around her face. Yet, all they knew was that nobody else was plagued by nightmares for the rest of the night, soundly sleeping in the midst of tangled limbs and bodies smushed up against each other. The bed was definitely not made for four people and both Suki and Zuko found themselves teetering on the edge of falling off multiple times because Sokka and Toph moved  _ a lot  _ in their sleep, but strangely enough, nobody minded.

And that morning, Aang and Katara had woken up to a seemingly empty house, wandering around the living room and the kitchen only to find nobody. 

“Where did everyone go?” Katara wondered out loud, looking into Suki’s room and finding it empty.

“I dunno, I checked Zuko and Toph’s rooms, and they weren’t there either…” He rubbed the back of his head, thinking. “Maybe they’re outside?”

“Yeah, probably...let’s go check Sokka’s room.”

“Yeah, let’s.” 

They walked down the strangely quiet halls together, wondering if they were the only ones there. 

“Hey, did you want mango or papaya for breakfast?” Aang casually asked as they came in front of Sokka’s room. Katara reached out to turn the knob. 

“Ugh, mangos definitely. Papayas are gross.” She answered, opening the door.

“Yeah, agreed. I don’t know how Suki likes that stuff……”

They both paused at the sight. 

All of their missing friends were in Sokka’s room, bunched up on his tiny bed. They barely fit, but somehow they managed to do it while still looking comfortable. Sokka and Suki were cuddled up to one another, limbs tangled and sticking together like glue. Zuko was barely able to fit on the far end with nearly half his body hanging over the edge. On the other side, Toph was snuggled up into his side, resting her head on his shoulder and cuddling his arm. They were snoring softly, blissfully unaware and asleep with the morning light seeping through the curtains and basking them in brightness. 

It was the last thing she expected to see, but it was plain  _ adorable.  _ She smiled and shook her head at them with fondness in her eyes.

Aang didn’t have the same attitude and he was pouting next to her.

“So cute!” Katara cooed before looking over at Aang. “I wonder- eh? What’s wrong?”

“How come they didn’t invite us?” He grumbled and Katara’s hand flew up to her mouth in order to prevent a snicker from coming out.

“I mean-“

“I wanna cuddle too!” Aang rushed over to the side of the bed where Zuko was at, fully intending on landing on top of them.

“Wait, Aang-!” Katara hissed but it was too late. Aang had already jumped and landed right on top of Zuko and Toph, effectively waking them up rather violently. Both of them screamed once Aang fell on top of them, the loud noise startling Sokka and Suki as well.

“Cuddle pile!” Aang had yelled right before slamming into Zuko’s stomach at full force. The older boy yelped as he woke up from the sudden weight.

“Ow!” 

“The fuck?!” 

“Oof!”

“What is going on?!” 

Even more outraged cries and yelps came out when Aang tried snuggling into the already overcrowded bed. Katara was hollering at him to get off to no avail and Toph had already sat up and started slapping Aang on his back and shoulder.

Sokka howled with laughter at the sight of Aang trying to multitask fitting on a tiny bed with 4 other people all while trying to fend himself from a seriously pissed off Toph. He tried to squeeze next to Toph and Sokka, but it ended up with Toph accidentally bumping Zuko too hard and him falling off of the bed. He landed hard with a thump, grumbling inaudibly to himself while everyone burst out laughing. Katara had a hard time pulling him off the ground, considering the fact that she was wheezing so hard that her shoulders were shaking. 

And Aang only managed to squeeze in once Zuko was knocked off, who, by the way, was  _ not _ happy at the way he was awoken. He hovered over the side of the bed next to Katara, arms crossed and glaring Aang down. Aang smiled nervously at the older boy.

“Sorry, Sifu Hotman.”

Strike two, and now Zuko was seriously angry.

“ _ I TOLD YOU,”  _ He hollered at the top of his lungs. “ _ NOT TO CALL ME THAT!”  _

“Sorry!” Aang squeaked, hiding half of his face under the covers. 

Everyone was howling with loud laughter, the room already filling up with noise already so early in the morning. Zuko turned his back on them and stormed out of the room, grumbling inaudibly which only set them off even more.

“Oh, we have mangos and papayas for breakfast-“ Katara tried calling out after him. 

“I HATE PAPAYAS!” Zuko shouted from the kitchen. The windows shook from how loud everyone was laughing. 

And that morning, when everyone finally decided to crawl out of bed and get breakfast after another hour of cuddling, they would get into a  _ heated _ argument with Suki over papayas. Weirdly enough, she was the only one who was willing to eat the papayas over the mangos, much to everyone's outrage. Sokka even jokingly threatened to break up with her, to which she slapped in on the shoulder playfully as he squawked. And back and forth they bickered and argued and laughed at one another, noise filling up the air around them. 

They didn’t start training until later that afternoon.

—

Sozin’s Comet came. Aang is gone. And Toph is saying goodbye.

Katara and Zuko are leaving them to go fight Azula. Toph knows how strong they could be, especially together; they’re the most stubborn and tenacious people she’s ever known in fact. Azula was tough, hard to beat, but she wasn’t any match for them,  _ she just couldn’t be. _

So why was there a huge pit forming in her stomach? Why does she feel like she’s going to choke as they stand there, not ready at all to say goodbye? Why can no words come out of her mouth at all? 

Sokka and Suki go first. 

Sokka bear hugs Zuko and calls him a brother, sternly demanding him to come back safely. Zuko looks him in the eye and promises that he will, that they’ll both come back no matter what. Sokka sucks in a breath, seemingly satisfied, before moving onto his sister. The two stare at each other for seconds before crashing into each other’s arms. They clung hard, wringing their hands in the other's tunics, seemingly begging the universe to not separate them. Toph hears them whispering something too quiet to hear, and their goodbye hug seems much too long but much too brief at the same time. Pulling away was the hardest part, it's always the hardest part. 

Suki’s used to short and sweet goodbyes. She hugs both Zuko and Katara and squeezes both their shoulders, looking them both down and willing that they come back. They promise her that they will and it’s not enough, it never will be enough, and Suki knows. Even so, she has to swallow it, despite the hole forming in her stomach at the thought of leaving them. But she pushes through it, and stays strong because she has to,  _ she has to.  _

_ Even if it meant holding onto promises that could so easily be broken in a heartbeat.  _

Toph stands in front of Katara, not wanting to move,  _ and not willing to say goodbye.  _ Katara smiles, but there is a lifetime of sadness and worry glimmering in her eyes. The older girl wraps her up in a fierce hug that said a million unsaid things. Toph could do nothing but hug her back just as tight and bury her face into Katara’s shoulder.

“Come back, okay?” Katara whispers into her hair.

Toph nods, wondering how could she even dare make such a promise like that. And in that moment, she remembers that one day, not too long ago, when she asked her friends in a tender voice if friendships could last more than a lifetime.

_ Because I want to stay with you forever: _ The unsaid part that she may never get to say. 

“Don’t do anything stupid.” Katara orders as Toph pulls away. Unsaid words hung on her tongue and love that words could never be powerful enough to describe. “Please.” She says in a quieter voice.

Toph laughs shakily.

“You know I’m all about stupid.” Her jaw trembled. 

After Katara was Zuko, Toph ran to him and crashed into his stomach with as much force as possible, causing him to stumble back slightly. He hugged her tight with one arm and patted her hair with the other. She doesn’t know where he learned to do that, but the gesture wants to make her cry anyways. They didn’t say much to each other, they didn’t need to anyway. But with all that said, the last thing she wanted to do was let go.

“Toph.” Zuko said gently after what she felt like was mere seconds. “It’s time. We have to go.”

She sucks in a breath. 

“I know.” Toph mumbled into his tunic.  _ I don’t want to.  _ “If you die, Katara’s gonna bring you back just so we can kill you all over again.” She tries to threaten him as best as possible, her voice still coming out shaky and weak. Zuko laughed weakly. 

“I know. I’ll try not to, you two are monsters when you’re mad.”

“Damn right we are.” 

They pulled away. 

Zuko and Katara mount on Appa and Toph sits there on the eel hound, listening to them go.

And she listened as the two of them left the ground on Appa, flying away till Appa’s croons and grumbles grew more distant until eventually, no more. Somehow, the pit in her stomach grew twice its original size. 

—

Aang comes back.

Sokka has a plan that he knows will very likely get them killed,  _ no _ , will certainly get them killed. It’s the only plan they have and despite everything, they still had a massive duty to fulfill. 

Toph tries to not think about it too much, especially when it seemed as though the world around her was falling apart.

Sharp and heavy debris falling all around them and threatening to crush them, metal scraping against each other and crashing and screeching, sparks flying and burning the surface of their skin, the stench of smoke filling up their lungs, Sokka and Suki screaming and trying to tell her where to go and protecting her from the falling debris and trying to protect each other all at the same time. It was  _ overwhelming,  _ it felt like being in a tiny, fallen world with nothing but deep void underneath.  _ And that’s what it was, and they had to survive it. _

Their heartbeats are racing,  _ her _ heartbeat is racing. Sokka tries his best to lead them, puffing out his chest and putting on the strongest voice he could. But she could feel him shaking, his heavy breathing, his heart racing, and the slight tremble in his voice when he directed them. He was just as terrified as they were and  _ she knew that he knew that they were most likely not going to make it. _

He was leading them to almost certain death. They all knew. And they all knew that he had no other choice. None of them did. 

But they had to be strong, for the sake of the world. A world was much too big to fit in their hands, but they’ll hold it up anyway,  _ somehow. _

Suki would never tell a soul this for the rest of her life, but the look in Sokka’s eyes was that of someone saying goodbye. 

And then Suki was ripped away from them and Toph couldn’t feel her heartbeat anymore. The pit in her stomach only grew deeper as she tried not to think about all the things that could go wrong with her being separated.  _ There were so many, way too many. _

The rest was a blur and  _ it was so loud.  _ Sharp debris falls from above them and Toph stumbles. Sokka didn’t even hesitate to jump on top of her and shield her body with his own, groaning in pain everytime metal hit his back. She so badly wants to cling onto him and cry like a little kid and never let go,  _ but she can’t. They have a duty, a massive weight on their shoulders that only so many could bear to carry. And in the end, it comes first, it always comes first.  _

And then they fall.

And then they dangle on the edge of nothing.

And Sokka tries, he tries so hard, fighting off their attackers with the heart of a lion turtle. They know it's in vain but Sokka wasn’t going to give up, grounding them with his broken leg and ignoring the pain that shoots up when it cracks and twists in all the ways it shouldn't. And he exhausts himself to the point of defenselessness, whispering promises to Toph that they’ll be ok if she just hangs on a little bit more, he’ll take care of it,  _ he always did.  _

But eventually, they have nothing and they could do nothing as they’re surrounded. Smoke is filling her lungs and Sokka is rapidly weakening, using all of his remaining strength to hold onto her, and what he had left wasn’t much at all. 

And his voice trembles as he admits that they were going to die. His voice trembles, full of sorrow because he knew this was going to happen. He knew, and he had no other choice but to proceed anyways.  _ Their duty to the world came first, they all signed the waiver the moment they took on the task.  _

And Toph?

She lets it all out and cries and sobs despite the smoke filling up her lungs and suffocating her. She signed the waiver and knew it could possibly mean her death, but she didn’t know how terrifying looking it in the eye could be until now. There was so much to lose and Toph didn’t understand how much it was merely seconds before. It wasn't just the utter fear, but the frustration, because  _ they were so close.  _ So close to forever, to having forever to be together, because Aang said that it was possible all those months ago. It aches so much,  _ so much,  _ because she tasted what could’ve been. And frustrated at the world for how unfair it was, and frustrated at herself for all those promises she said back at camp that she knew deep down she wouldn’t be able to keep. 

But forever needed the strength and time that they didn’t have. And inch by inch, she slips away from Sokka and they both know that he can’t hold her for much longer. She closes her eyes and prepares for them to fall,  _ prepares for the end.  _

Suki came back, by some miracle, she managed to come back. And maneuvering an entire airship from the top all by herself because she was cool like that. She catches them, and it's only a minute before they get to safety and they can finally breathe again. The airship fleet has fallen, and they did their duty,  _ and survived. They survived.  _

Sokka and Suki run to each other (well for Sokka, he limped as fast as he could while ignoring the screaming pain in his leg) and stumble and crash into each other like waves in the ocean in a mess of limbs. They cling to one another and Sokka pulls her into a passionate kiss, holding her face so tenderly with calloused and scraped hands. Suki pulls away and rests her forehead on his, relaxing and breathing and smiling with tears brimming her eyes. They caress each other's cheeks, laughing breathlessly because  _ you came back, you came back!  _

“Haha!” Sokka is speechless. “You- you saved me again! You really are the most amazing girl in the world!” 

Suki kisses his temple, ignoring the fact that he’s sweaty and smells like smoke. 

“You bet I am.” She smiles, pulling away. They look into each other deeply, eyes so full of love. Sokka rubs his thumb over her cheek gently. “What, did you think I wasn’t gonna come for you guys?” Her voice is so soft, and it brims with pure adoration and fondness. 

“What? No. I had all the faith in the world.” He laughed. His eyes softened as he stared deeply into hers. “I love you.” He whispered, his body relaxing every single tense muscle. 

Suki grabs his wrist and rubs her thumb over the top of his knuckles.

“I love you too, to the end of the universe and back.” She closes her eyes and they lean in for one, final kiss, holding onto each other like they were about to lose each other all over again. Their lips parted, and they rested on each other, forehead against forehead as they closed their eyes, caressing each other's face. 

Suki finally pulls away and holds him at arm's length. She looks behind Sokka and then back at him, grinning slyly with ash and dirt all over her hair and face. Sokka wiped off a streak of running under her eye with the pad of his thumb. 

“I may be a bit selfish when it comes to having you,” she giggles, eyes glimmering. “But I can’t keep you all to myself right now, there’s another person here who needs you now too. Don’t you dare keep her waiting. She’s a mean one.” Suki kissed his hairline with fierceness before pointing at Toph. Her knees were drawn up, face buried into them and trembling hard from her head down to her toes. Sokka felt his heart melt a bit because for the first time ever, she looked so  _ small. _

Sokka carefully limps over her, kneeling down next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. He winced hard at the sharp pain that shot up his bad leg. But she lifted her face and her cheeks were streaked with tears, most likely from earlier.

“Hey.” Sokka whispered, flashing her a crooked smile.

Toph doesn’t say anything before crashing into him and burying her face into his shoulder, clinging onto him tightly. She shudders and her breath hitched as she balls up her fists in the back of his shirt. Sokka pulls her between his legs and holds her just as tight, rubbing circles into her back and resting his chin on top of her head.

“Hey, what are you crying about?” He smiled, a tear running down his own cheek. She lifted her face from his shoulder and he wiped the tear streaks off of her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. Toph let out a noise of unbelieving outrage, not understanding how he could ask such a stupid thing. 

“Because we almost died,  _ you loser!”  _ She exclaims, bonking him on the side of his head with her fist. He laughed.

“Died?!” He dramatically asked. “Oh, no, no. I knew Suki was returning. Trust me, I planned the whole thing out  _ just _ for the dramatics. I’m very teatric like that. Man with the plan, remember?” 

Toph smiles and wetly laughs at his very obvious and horrible attempt to make her stop crying. Then, she crashes into him again, burying her face back into her spot in his shoulder.

“You’re so full of shit.” She sniffles, wringing her hands into his tunic tighter. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her with crushing force, swaying them back and forth. Eventually, he invited Suki to join in on the hug and she gladly obliged, kneeling behind Toph and squishing the younger girl in between them. 

They knelt there, holding each other for a while, scraped knees and open wounds against cold metal. They all were sweaty, exhausted, bloodied and smelt like smoke and war but they didn’t care. 

Eventually, Toph gathered up the courage to finally detach herself from Sokka and the three of them went downstairs to the command center to watch Aang’s battle. Suki had gotten Sokka’s leg all wrapped up before they went outside to check on what was going on. 

Apparently, there was a lights show during their fight that Toph obviously missed. She was more than confused when Sokka and Suki were jumping up and down and yelling and bickering about the sky turning red and then blue, then a mix of the two.

“C’mon Aang, go, go, go!” Sokka screeched. “Holy fucking shit!” 

“Do you think that red is Aang’s color maybe…?”

“Babe, how?! Red is for bad guys, blue is for good guys! You know this!”

“Oh, how do you know?!” 

“It’s literally common sense.” 

“What the hell are you guys talking about-“ 

She was interrupted when Sokka and Suki suddenly erupted with cheers and laughter, bouncing up and down and hugging each other tightly like it was New Years. Sokka pulled Suki in for a quick victory kiss before he turned to Toph and pulled her into the tightest bear hug he could muster. Her feet were lifted off the ground and he spun her around in a circle, hooping and hollering excitedly as she yelped. Once he stopped, Suki came in and wrapped them up in an even tighter hug, squishing her between them.

“He did it! Our boy did it!” Sokka laughed boisterously with pure relief and joy in his voice. Suki planted a kiss on both Toph and Sokka’s cheeks, cheering and swaying them around as the three laughed.

Toph guessed that meant that Aang had won. 

And on the short way down, while Suki drove, Sokka was practically bouncing in his spot as he leaned on Toph. And when they did, they helped him off of the ship, all three excited to greet Aang. 

Aang smashes into them for a hug and they all do their best to wrap around him. Sokka laughs breathlessly, resting his forehead on top of Aang’s.

“I’m so proud of you, little buddy! You did it! You did it!” Sokka cheers, his chest swelling up with pride at his pseudo-little brother. 

Aang’s heart is pounding like a frightened jackrabbit, body completely exhausted from his battle. His arms are weak when he wrapped them around and seems as though he was completely drained. Toph couldn’t blame him at all and instead, she fumbles for his hand. When she finds it, she intertwines their fingers together and squeezes. Aang does it back twice as hard. 

“Good job, Twinkletoes. I knew you could do it.” She softly said, flicking him on the nose.

  
  


“Yeah, way to go Aang!” Suki cheered, leaning forward to nuzzle the young Avatar on his forehead. He giggles at all the affection.

When the four of them pull away, Toph hovers over Ozai, his bending gone as Aang leaves behind nothing but a shell, an empty, ruined shell at that. She wondered how such a cowardly, pathetic man could ever be related to someone like Zuko.  _ His father too _ . It disgusted her, and she gives him no courtesy when she binds his limbs with rock and drags him onto the ship with little care. And Toph makes sure he’s as uncomfortable as possible, sending the message that he was less than dirt. She wanted him to know exactly what she thought of him, an empty, graceless excuse of a man. 

—-

They lock him away in the backrooms of the airship, leaving him alone to stew in his own filth, bound and bloodied. Suki and Toph had thrown him on the cold, hard, metal floor and poured all their rage into it. Ozai’s grunts and groans of pain as his wounds and bruises throb and bleed are horribly satisfying to her ears. He’s probably never felt this way before, so small, so powerless, so humiliated and pride swells up within Toph’s chest. He was nothing compared to them, nothing anymore. 

He was everything, and he managed to be reduced to nothing in one day. It was glorious. 

And on the ride home, Suki and Aang take turns driving as they go to meet up with Katara and Zuko. 

Sokka was sitting on the floor of the command center, resting his leg. Toph crawled over and snuggled into his side, the older boy lifting his arm in invitation. He let her lean her head on his shoulder, eventually relaxing into him and closing her eyes. She was so exhausted, they all were, but he didn’t mind if she used him as a pillow. He lifted up her bangs and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

“Crazy day, huh?” 

Toph scoffs. 

“Tell me about it.” 

She thinks about Katara and Zuko, wondering if they held up their end of the deal and survived. She tries so hard not to think about what she would do if they couldn’t. How she would react, and  _ how much it would break her.  _ But she shook those thoughts away, clinging to Sokka as he hummed a song softly. His chest rumbled deeply and it was enough to put her to sleep, even as the ship rattled and creaked dangerously. Spirits, she hated flying. 

But she remembers the song, and she closes her eyes, resting into Sokka as he hummed. It reminds her of home, of warm campfires and hot stew and loud laughter and quiet nights and inside jokes and all of the things that will never be said because they don’t need to be. And Sokka absentmindedly keeps humming as she slowly falls asleep while still cuddled into him. 

The good feelings and the peaceful slumber are short lived when they’re close enough to hover above Caldera City. The strong scene of smoke and fire hits her nose suddenly and she jerks awake as her stomach drops.  _ Something is wrong.  _ It’s quiet, but something is off about the way it's so silent. 

“What’s going on out there?” She demands, voice almost trembling. 

Suki sucks in a breath.

“Caldera City.” Her answers with barely suppressed fear in her voice. “ _ It’s on fire.”  _

Her heart almost stops.

“Fire?” She asks quietly. “Do you think they’re okay?”

The room is dead silent and the silence was threatening to eat them alive where they stood. 

“I don’t know.” Suki answers her, voice raw and hoarse. “ _ I don’t know. _ ” 

Toph sights back down and curls into Sokka even further now as the pit in her stomach takes its form once again. And they pray, they all pray as buildings crash and fall just down below them and smoke fills their lungs. They beg to whatever was out there, that among the living, among their survivors, were theirs. Everyone’s heartbeats are rippling and pounding through the metal all together and she feels just how terrified everyone is through her feet. She tries to contain her trembling and shaking as much as possible and Sokka notices. He pulls her into his chest and presses another kiss on top of her head.

“Don’t you worry, okay?” He tells her, putting on the voice that she knew he put on when he was terrified but trying to be strong. “That crazy bitch has got nothing on them, do you hear me? They can take her with their eyes closed.” 

His voice trembles the more he speaks, but she indulges him anyway.

In a way, he is right. Zuko and Katara are alike in that way, stubborn, tenacious, headstrong and determined. They’ll be okay. 

_ They’ll be okay. They have to be. _

“That’s true.” She answers him, shaky and not feeling like herself. 

Sokka smiled and pressed his forehead against hers. It was a promise.

Once they land, they rush off the airship as fast as humanly possible. Aang and Suki slowly help Sokka off the ship, but no, Toph  _ has _ to check for the heartbeats. Her feet hit the stone cold earth and two heartbeats come into sight, one strong and steady, the other fluttering and faint. But  _ there were two. There were two! _

Katara called out for them, slowly walking with Zuko leaning on her.

“You guys! You’re okay!” She laughed with so much relief and joy in her voice. Toph cries when she hears Katara and runs toward them as fast as possible. She crashed into them with full force, hitting them hard enough to make them stumble. Toph hugs Zuko around his waist as tight as she possibly could, barely even letting up when he winced with pain with Katara hollering at her.

“Careful!” She gasps and Toph just hugs Zuko tighter while he laughs breathlessly. “He’s hurt, don’t be so rough on- Oh, what the heck-“ She ends up giggling and the two older teens wrap themselves around Toph as she sobs, sobs at the feeling of five stable heartbeats rippling through the earth. Relief flooded her body, and it was almost too much. 

The others join in on the cuddle pile once they help Sokka over to them. And they fall, holding each other with bloodied hands and kneeling on the ground with scraped knees within ash and soot and dried blood. Toph ends up squished between Zuko and Aang, with her burying her face in Zuko’s shoulder and squeezing Aang’s hand with as much strength as she could muster.

She can’t stop crying, and she doesn’t know why.

Maybe it's because she was able to get her forever. Forever to be stupid, stupid kids, forever to say all the things left unsaid, forever to love and forever to just to be. It was utterly overwhelming, because even though they were left to pick up the pieces of a broken, rotten world, they still were able to get the best ending. 

_ This was the best ending, holding each other within a burning city, a war torn world with wounds and bruises covering their bodies, smelling like soot and fire and blood and battle. This was the best ending, their heartbeats pounding through the earth, strong and steady and alive. This was the best ending, and Toph couldn’t have asked for anything more.  _

Aang is hugging her from the back and resting his chin on her shoulder. His head bobs up and down as her shoulders wrack with hiccups and sobs. She hasn’t cried like this in a while, but she doesn’t care. 

“Hey.” Zuko said gently. “Why are you crying?” 

His voice was hoarse and raspy. Toph pulled her face away from its place on his shoulder and flashed a huge smile at him. 

“Fuck if I know.” Toph laughed, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. Then, she gently rested her hand on his bandaged midsection, being careful to not press too hard. “What happened here?”

“Azula.” Zuko answers quietly. The older boy turned his head and laid eyes on Sokka, who was busy pulling his little sister in his chest and holding her tight. He noticed his leg, all bloodied and bandaged. “What happened there?” 

“Airships. Debris. Falling.” 

Zuko nodded.

“How’d you manage to take them all down?”

“By hijacking one and crashing it into all the others mid-air.” 

“WHAT.” Katara suddenly screeched, overhearing their conversation. “You guys did  _ what _ ?!” She snapped her head up and glared at her older brother. Sokka flashed a huge apologetic grin at her, even as she started yelling at them. 

“That is the stupidest- You guys could've gotten killed!” She gasped and Toph snickered.

“Well we almost did-“

“ _ Not helping!”  _ Sokka hissed and everyone burst out laughing. 

Katara reached over and bonked Toph on the forehead playfully. 

“Didn’t I tell you  _ not  _ to do something stupid?!”

“Didn’t I tell you that I’m all about stupid?”

She let out an outraged laugh and sat back down, resting her head on Sokka’s shoulder. 

“Humpfh! You guys are lucky.”

“Maybe we are. But don’t complain, it worked, didn’t it?” 

In reality, there was no maybe, because they were. They were incredibly lucky, to be able to sit down on a stone cold floor in the middle of a burnt down world and laugh and cry and hold one another.  _ They won’t ever take for granted that they were amongst the lucky ones who survived and lived to have their forever ending.  _

And they sit there, exhausted and not willing to move away from each other even if it meant going somewhere more comfortable. Debris falls from all around them and metal and stone creaks and falls and cracks as the city burns down to the ground. It smells horrible, like war and smoke and battle, but it didn’t matter. They breathe, and Toph can’t stop listening to the 5 strong heartbeats that ripple throughout the earth like it was a melody. She closes her eyes, and each heartbeat means that she’s closer and closer to home. 

Aang sniffles and a tear hits Toph’s shoulder. She turns her head sideways and Aang is  _ sobbing _ . Before she knows it, something inside of him breaks and he starts frantically apologizing to Zuko about Ozai. Toph squeezes his hand even tighter.

“Zuko, I’m sorry.” He hiccuped. “I didn’t kill your dad, I-I just couldn’t-“ 

Zuko did nothing but hug the two with strong ferocity. Toph hangs her head on Zuko’s shoulder while Aang cries into the crook of the older boy’s neck.

“‘S okay.” Zuko’s voice cracks and crumbles. “I’m not mad. You did great. I’m proud of you.” 

Aang wrings his hands into his tunic and cries harder. And by that point, Sokka, Suki and Katara have wrapped themselves tight around Aang, holding each other up. Mumbled apologies, whispers, and promises fill the air and they all say things that they won’t ever be able to repeat. But all of it, to Toph at least, equated to  _ I love you.  _ She was too choked up to say anything at all, so she listens. Listens to her family, listens to the earth and how the ground was able to send their heartbeats rippling through her soles, a telltale sign that they were  _ alive, alive, alive.  _

And they were just starting to be a family, and now they had a lifetime to be stupid together.  _ Forever, forever, forever. Toph didn’t even know where to begin on comprehending that word.  _

Sokka is the first to laugh wetly and pull away, unshed tears glimmering in his eyes.

“Does anyone have food? I’m starving!” He laughs and everyone can’t help but groan. 

Katara slaps him on the shoulder, giggling.

“We just ate like, an hour ago!”

“I know, and I’m still hungry!”

“Well I don’t have anything,” Suki speaks up, checking her pockets for further emphasis. “But when we do eventually get food, remember,  _ Zuko hates papayas!”  _

Everyone snickered with amusement as Zuko groaned.

“Why must you all torture me.” He grumbles dramatically, slapping his own forehead. His complaining only set everyone else off even more, as they were bursting with loud laughter.

And there they were, laughing and holding on as if they all didn’t just look death in the eye and defy it minutes ago.

And there they were, broken and beaten and bloodied children, tangled within each other in a cluster of limbs and clinging on as if they would lose each other forever if they let go, breathlessly laughing. Tears brim their eyes, tears of mourning and tears of joy, tears of relief and tears of grieving, and tears of hope and tears of hopelessness, all mixed into one mess. 

Toph was a mess. They were a mess. But still, she closes her eyes and hones in on the heartbeats, singing and beating through the earth and through the soles of her feet. They were a telltale sign that they still had forever even with the sky falling down on top of them, a telltale sign that they survived, and most of all, a telltale sign that she was home. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> BRO I don't even know how this managed to get so long ahaha. Anyways, I'm still in my ATLA feelssssss.


End file.
